K12 Headlines

4/23/2014

Contingent on a $36.74 million bond approval by voters in May, Secant Technologies will help South Haven schools with technology upgrades, including analyzing technology needs, developing bid specifications and overseeing the bidding process for the technology portion of the bond work.

The Department of Labor and Education has awarded 24 Youth CareerConnect grants, totaling $107 million. The funds are being given to integrate high school education and career skills initiatives with many of the recipients utilizing the funds to increase post-secondary technology education and apprenticeships.

Hydaburg and Annette Island districts were among three Alaska Native groups that received over $1 million in advanced telecommunications technology grants through the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development office. The grants will be used to purchase video conference equipment for various school purposes.

Troup County's board has approved nearly $2 million in special purpose, local option sales tax projects that will revamp technology and communication networks. Wireless access and VoIP phone systems will be installed districtwide while nearly 2,000 computers and laptops will be replaced at 10 schools.

The Edwardsville district inked its second tech-related deal in recent years by approving a five-year, $600,000 purchase-lease agreement with American Capital for technology improvements. The deal includes replacing computers, servers and routers and upgrading the financial management and student database systems.

Digital Learning Now!, a national initiative of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, which pushes to reform education and to improve technology, recently released a report card that grades K12 education policies in each of the nation’s 50 states. But the grades for some states are still failing or near failing.

Siemens announced nearly $660 million of in-kind software grants for manufacturing programs at vocational high schools, technical community colleges and universities throughout Massachusetts. Thirteen academic partners, including five public high schools, are receiving the grants to support curriculum and training programs.

The Tuscaloosa County School System has a new plan to expand career tech instruction at all six of its high schools and eight of its middle schools over the next three years. The goals include programs focused on health science, visual arts, agricultural science and more.

The state's Education Technology Task Force has released its "Education Technology Blueprint" report, outlining 19 learning, teaching, assessment and infrastructure recommendations. Policies based on the recommendations have already begun, including adoption of the Local Control Funding Formula.

A proposed shared services agreement amongst four New Jersey districts would remove the in-house technology director position at Northern Highlands' high school. Under the agreement, one CTO would be appointed to oversee seven schools.

The rush to get student data into the cloud has not been accompanied by careful attention to student privacy. Any legislative fix should set rules for how student data is transmitted, stored and secured.

Summer school is differing greatly from district to district in Connecticut. Some districts, like Newtown, offer more traditional remedial summer school courses, but others, including Danbury and Bethel, have expanded their offerings to include a Wilderness Survival course or classes that qualify students for more advanced courses in the fall.

The state already struggles to graduate some of its students, particularly in poor, rural areas that also have the greatest transportation needs. That situation should not be compounded by a lack of school bus drivers. South Carolina also needs to take into account the age of its state-run school bus fleet.

A statewide poll showed public support for using a formula to distribute state school funding. Education advocates say that a proposed commission to examine the issue is a critical first step. State funding for education is currently distributed with factors, weights and targets changing on an annual basis.

A family is suing a New Jersey district and its superintendent, seeking to have the phrase "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. The lawsuit, filed by the undisclosed family and the American Humanist Association, claims that the practice of acknowledging God discriminates against atheists, in violation of the state's constitution.